Category Archives: Law School

The California Bar Wants to Force Law Schools to Provide Practical Skills

Posted May 5th, 2012
Shon R. Hopwood
The California Bar Association is considering a proposal that would require bar applicants to have taken a practical skills course during law school in order to be admitted to the bar. The Bar Association, however, has received some pushback from two prominent law school deans. Stanford Law Dean Larry Kramer urged caution. And UC Irvine Dean [...]
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167 Law Schools See A Decline In Applicants

Posted April 12th, 2012
Shon R. Hopwood
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The Law School Admission Council recently released a report explaining that 167 law schools have seen a decline in applicants in 2012. That comes as no surprise given the legal job market and the New York Times’ reporting last year on some of the worst aspects of they system. Law Professor Brian Tamanaha over at Balkninzation [...]
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Federalist Society Student Symposium

Posted March 6th, 2012
Shon R. Hopwood
Over the weekend, I attended the Federalist Society Student Symposium which was held at Stanford Law School. The symposium was entitled, Bureaucracy Unbound: Can Limited Government and the Admistrative State Co-Exist? It was my first time attending a Fed Soc event, and I must say, I was greatly impressed. Not only was the quality of [...]
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A Law and Economics Approach to Deciding Whether Law School Is Worth It

Posted March 1st, 2012
Shon R. Hopwood
For those of you considering law school and its accompanying debt, you need to watch this video.
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Effective Cover Letters for Law School Students

Posted February 25th, 2012
Shon R. Hopwood
Hey fellow law school students, if you are wanting some pointers on how to write an effective cover letter for externships, internships, summer jobs, and the like, then you should check out UCLA Professor Eugene Volokh’s take on what makes an effective cover letter. The blog post is here.
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Legal Education in Crisis?

Posted February 22nd, 2012
Shon R. Hopwood
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At the New York Times, Professor Stanley Fish discusses the state of legal education. Fish writes: Uneasiness about the state of legal education has been around for some time, but in the wake of the financial meltdown of 2008, uneasiness ripened into a conviction that something was terribly wrong as law school applications declined, thousands of [...]
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Law Schools Are Teaching What They Can

Posted November 20th, 2011
Shon R. Hopwood
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David Segal’s piece in the New York Times yesterday raised serious questions about whether law schools are really teaching students to become practicing attorneys rather than, say, just good law students. The piece also addressed such things as clinical work, legal scholarship, and the cost of law school. My perspective on these issues is unique [...]
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Whew! Now I Can Quit Law School

Posted October 27th, 2011
Shon R. Hopwood
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Clifford Winston recently published an op-ed at the New York Times entitled, “Are Law Schools and Bar Exams Necessary?” The only words I can really add to it are: Nice work!
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One Month Down

Posted October 25th, 2011
Shon R. Hopwood
I am officially finished with my first month of law school. I must say it was exhausting. But other than that, I have little to complain about. My professors are great (and I’m not just saying that to kiss their you know what!), my classmates are likeable (my small section is completely devoid of gunners), and [...]
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Need Help With Law School Exams? Open Book Is Here To Help

Posted October 19th, 2011
Shon R. Hopwood
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As a general rule, I usually don’t advocate on behalf of books I haven’t read. But there is an exception. When I have read several of the author’s previous works, and I just know his next will be as spectucular as his previous ones. I have read NYU Professor Barry Friedman’s books, articles and blog [...]
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